A Debt of Honor
No one was more surprised than Smiley by the Klingon who chose to fight alongside them. The aged Klingon commandeered a Bird-of-Prey shortly after Terok Nor’s capture by the rebels and took it to the station where he surrendered to make his offer. When asked why he said it was to restore another’s honor. A common enough reason for a Klingon to fight, but fight alongside Terrans? Kruge’s age made it all the more puzzling. O’Brien estimated he had to be at least a century—old enough to remember when his own people were the ones enslaved by the Terran Empire. If anything this Klingon would wish to destroy the Terrans more than anyone. This was one reason O’Brien was skeptical. Bashir trusted him even less. "Whose honor?" O’Brien asked. The Klingon hesitated before responding. "A Terran’s honor. Someone you seem to be very much like. If I fight alongside you I will have a chance to fight a battle in his name." "I think I have an idea," Dax broke in. "If it’s whom I think it is I knew him as Curzon," she said. Kruge looked at her for a second. Dax continued. "It’s David Marcus, isn’t it? You want to help him enter Sto-vo-kor, don’t you?" Kruge nodded. O’Brien was stunned. Bashir started to grab the old Klingon but Dax held him back. O’Brien looked at both Dax and Kruge. "Perhaps one of you could explain," he said. "The official Alliance line is that Marcus betrayed his own people to us. It maintains this lie as an example of Terran lack of honor," Kruge replied. "Marcus was an honorable warrior. He deserved better than to be dishonored by those he fought for." Dax continued. "Marcus helped the Klingons resist Terran occupation, that’s all. He never intended for them to turn around and conquer Earth. He didn’t expect they’d even be able to. "Marcus’ mother was executed by the Empire. They knew about the first crossover and how it affected Spock and some others. Carol Marcus was one of those they won over because she realized how different David’s father had turned out on the other side. When Spock was overthrown David sought to carry on his vision of reform through an underground movement. When the Klingons were conquered he worked with them. He didn’t count on Cardassia’s involvement." "That was something no one had expected," Tuvok said. "At the time Cardassia wasn’t considered as powerful as either the Terran or Klingon empires. When Cardassia entered the war we did not realize they were purchasing dilithium from an unknown race." The Ferengi, Smiley realized. Because of those shipments Cardassia made enough gains into Terran space to hook up with the Klingons. "And once Cardassia hooked up with us it was a whole new war," Kruge said. "Where Marcus was able to offer hand weapons and scout ships the Cardassians supplied warships. It was a chance to turn the tables and avenge our earlier defeat at the hands of the Terrans. Unfortunately Marcus suffered the consequences." "And now you want to try to restore Marcus’ honor," O’Brien acknowledged. Kruge nodded. "And earn him a chance to enter Sto-vo-kor as the warrior he was. The chance that he should have had in the first place." "What became of him?" one of the rebels asked. "He couldn’t live with the knowledge of what he’d helped bring about," Dax said sadly. "He committed suicide." “You may get your chance very soon,” O’Brien told him. “The Alliance Fleet’s already on its way here and our sources say the Regent himself is commanding it.” “Then we should give them the proper welcome,” Kruge acknowledged. A Terran female in her mid-thirties approached them. “The Defiant’s still showing…” she paused at the sight of the Klingon—“the same problem.” “Tuvok, could you take our guest away for a second?” O’Brien asked. Tuvok agreed, and took Kruge into an adjoining room. “You people aren’t quite convinced, are you?” Kruge asked the Vulcan. “You must admit your visit is unexpected,” Tuvok responded. “Unlike Dax and myself, the humans are not old enough to remember Dr. Marcus. The only image they have of him is that of someone who betrayed his own people to yours. Logic dictates caution in such circumstances.” “Then let me prove it to you,” Kruge said. “I believe your people can do that.” Tuvok raised his hands to the Klingon’s face and made contact. “Our minds are merging, Kruge. Our minds are one. I feel what you feel. I know what you know.” The mind-meld was a success. Tuvok and Kruge returned to the promenade to hear the others still discussing the Defiant’s problems with stability. “Defiant, is that that strange-looking ship I saw when I first docked here?” Kruge asked. “His story is truthful,” Tuvok told the two humans, and left no doubt as to how he knew. “Yes, that’s the Defiant,” Smiley answered. “We’ve brought someone here who might be able to fix its problems with stability.” A tall male Terran joined them. Though he was bald and had a goatee Kruge recognized him as Benjamin Sisko, the Terran resistance leader who was killed a year earlier. “I thought…” he started to say. “This is the other side’s Captain Sisko,” O’Brien answered. He’d already explained the Klingon’s presence to Jennifer Sisko, and now did the same for the captain. “We need to buy us some time,” Dax was telling the others. The Alliance fleet was less than eight hours away. “How many raiders have we got left?” Bashir asked Smiley. “Only one,” O’Brien answered. “There’s no way we can stop the Alliance attack.” “Maybe not, but I might be able to buy more time before they get here.” “You’ll never make it back!” Smiley told him. “Is that what you’re worried about?” Bashir shot back. “I thought it was because you were going to reap all the glory!” “What good is glory when you’re dead?” “Who said anything about dying?” Bashir asked. Dax broke in. “When are we leaving?” she asked. “I never liked staying in one place for very long.” “Then it’s settled,” Bashir said. “Before you go we better make damned sure you can get us that extra time,” Captain Sisko told both of them. “Maybe I can get some information out of our … prisoner.” As Sisko went to the Intendant’s holding cell Kruge approached O’Brien with his own idea. “I could use my own ship to delay them further with an inverse graviton burst,” he told Smiley. “It would disrupt their warp fields and force them to drop to impulse until the gravitons dissipated. If I could engage them in battle it would delay them even further. I’d confuse their sensors in the opening moments with a spread of torpedoes.” “You’re as crazy as Bashir!” O’Brien told him. “The Regent is using his own flagship to command the fleet! You can’t really expect to generate a big enough burst against that.” “A single Bird-of-Prey could do it by diverting warp power to the shields.” He handed Smiley a padd containing some calculations. O’Brien looked them over. “Even if you can do this, he pointed out, “there’s no way Bashir’s going to be able to tell you apart from the Alliance ships. And if I know Bashir he won’t even try. It’ll be even money who gets you first.” “A Bird-of-Prey is much faster than a raider,” Kruge countered. “If I leave right now I can engage them long before the others get there. I know I can do this,” he added, and left. “Good luck” Smiley said. He had to admit they could use all the help they could get. Kruge met Dax and Bashir on the way to his own ship. Dax filled him in on what they’d learned from the Intendant about Alliance weaknesses. “She’s been singing like a lark,” Dax said. “Seems she’s suddenly decided she doesn’t want to face Alliance ‘justice’. We’re going to try to create some warp shadows as decoys." Kruge told them his own strategy. Between the three of them they just might buy the time they needed. “Qapla’,” Dax told him. “Qapla’,” Kruge replied. The Regent’s tactical officer noticed the incoming vessel on his monitor. “Bird-of-Prey closing on intercept, sir. Sensors indicate it’s the I.K.S. Marcus.” “Kruge’s ship!” Worf growled. Just then a volley of photon torpedoes came from the Marcus, which Kruge had named after the Terran rebel of an earlier era. “Our sensors are being disrupted!” the tactical officer continued as the Negh’Var shook. “Our warp fields are destabilizing!” “The p’tahk!” Worf uttered as the Negh’Var and other Alliance ships were forced to drop out of warp by the Marcus’ graviton burst. Kruge’s ship continued firing at the other vessels. The others returned fire. “Today is a good day to die, Kruge—for you!” the Regent said out loud. The Marcus’ shields were on maximum, but they wouldn’t hold for very long. But they didn’t need to. On the Marcus, Kruge agreed it was a good day to die. “When I get to the gates of Sto-Vo-Kor I will sing of your battles, of your courage and honor Marcus,” he said as if David was in the room. “I’ll be your cha’Dich.” Dax and Bashir, who also felt the graviton’s effect, witnessed the battle at the edge of their sensors. The Marcus was taking heavy fire and its shields were finally collapsing. A final shot from the Negh’Var’s disruptor batteries finished it. The Alliance fleet would soon be able to resume warp. But Kruge had bought them enough time. They were ready to generate the warp shadow decoys. Smiley met up with Dax and Bashir after their ships docked at Terok Nor. Tuvok joined them. Dax briefed them on Kruge. Together they’d bought enough time to drive off the Alliance fleet. “So I guess this would qualify as winning the victory he wanted?” O’Brien asked. Dax nodded. “I think so.” “I’d have to admit though that like most Terrans I’ve never really felt we have souls,” O’Brien said. “Vulcans call them katras,” Tuvok said. “We are able to place them into another person just before we die, if someone is present at the time.” “Of course two centuries ago your people encouraged the belief that the rest of us didn’t have souls, or katras,” Dax reminded him, “because the rest of us can’t do that.” “Unfortunately that is true,” Tuvok admitted. “Many Bajorans also believe in a ‘soul’ or ‘katra’. They refer to it as one’s pagh, or boryha.” Bajor’s vedeks and prylars had sheltered a number of people on the station from the Alliance at one time or another, often at great risk to their own lives. “Of course I have a new life every time I’m placed in a new host,” Dax pointed out. “Whether that qualifies as a kind of life after death I can’t say.” The topic got Smiley thinking about something Dax said earlier when they first met Kruge. “Was Spock able to place his katra into anyone?” “He was,” Tuvok answered. “What is not widely known is that they used a device Spock had obtained from the first crossover to take him to the other side, because Mt. Seleya was under Earth control following the coup.” They noticed Captain Sisko and his son off to the side, looking very tired. “We lost Professor Sisko,” Tuvok explained. The others looked down. “I’m going to miss her,” O’Brien said. “I just hope they’re at peace. Especially David,” Dax said. “What happened wasn’t his fault.” Ninety-three years earlier Spock was dead. Twelve years after he was challenged to reform the Empire and try to avert its predicted collapse, that Empire had sentenced him to death. Yet he had died not by the Empire’s hand but by hers, for it was far more painless than spending hours or even days in an agony booth, the Empire’s method of execution. A simple press of a button and his body was vaporized. Now Saavik had all that was left of Spock, his katra, which was why she was on Vulcan. He’d placed it into her just before she beamed out and pressed the button. She also activated that device’s self-destruct mechanism so it wouldn’t fall into the Empire’s hands. Not her Vulcan, for it was under Earth control. Another universe’s Vulcan. “Find a logical reason for sparing the Halkans,” that universe’s Captain Kirk had urged Spock. He’d done more than that; he’d found a logical reason for the Halkans to yield on the dilithium crystals. They were the role model for the reforms he helped initiate, first on Vulcan, then throughout the Empire. He knew of the other universe’s Federation from a mind-meld with one of its officers, and Vulcan’s dedication to logic and peace in that universe. In Spock’s universe there was only one role model available, and that was the Halkans. The other Kirk hadn’t stopped to think about the implications. The Halkans were total pacifists, and it was because of their influence in Spock’s government that Starfleet had moved against him. And she was here. Whatever happened with the Empire would have to be without Spock. She saw him about thirty meters in front of her, and knew she’d come to the right place. He appeared to be taking a group of cadets from this universe’s Starfleet on a tour of Vulcan. The goatee was absent, but there was no question of his identity. “Mr. Spock!” she called as she ran toward him. Captain Spock turned to face her, a bit taken back. “May I be of assistance?” he asked the new visitor. Without warning, Saavik raised her hand up to Spock’s temple and locked him in a mind-meld. “Remember,” she told him.